"Life in a Day"

WOW! "Life in a Day"! If you missed this amazing movie, I am sorry. For anyone who doesn't know what "Life in a Day" you can follow this link (http://www.youtube.com/user/lifeinaday) to go to their youtube homepage and learn about it, but I'll give you a small summary right now. "Life in a Day" is a movie directed by Kevin Macdonald, but all of the film is by us, the people of the world. On July 24th, 2010, people across the world submitted video of their daily lives and events that went on. For those of you who watched or know about it than you can appreciate the magnitude that came with it.

There are so many things to be said about this film, about its creativity, inspiring footage, or overall awesomeness, but I really want to focus on how perfectly it relates to this blog and really reveals a lot about our world.

First off, this 'cinematic experiment', as Macdonald calls it, could never have been achieved so easily without the power of the internet. I heard about this project last year, but never realized what it really was, then yesterday I saw they were streaming it live and decided to watch it with my mom. I'm very happy that I was able to see this and especially with my mother because seeing that she is from a different generation I was a able to get her point of view on the movie and the ability of the internet, which is really what I want this blog to be about. 
So the internet is a wonderful thing if you haven't realized that I am in love with it. This film, in only about an hour and a half and no script, tells us so much about the world and how easy it has become to feel connected. When I spoke with my mom about the film she was telling me that she wished she had this kind of technology so she could feel more connected and accepted. Like the woman who closed the film with her little monologue about loneliness and personal matter, my mom felt similarly. I can't stress enough, though, how easy it has become, compared to what my mom has told me about the past, to connect with people in an instant and achieve great things.

One day I hope to be great, make a long lasting legacy and be remembered, so the internet only helps my cause. What we can do on here is endless. My personal favorite thing about the internet is the resources it gives you to network yourself easily and be connected with the snap of a finger.

The internet has led to many great things, and I am sure will keep leading to more, but so far I believe "Life in a Day" has been the greatest feat that has been accomplished.

If you didn't see the movie yesterday, I HIGHLY stress that when it comes to theaters you see it RIGHT AWAY and go with a lot of people. I hope that events like this are not once in a lifetime because films like this can really change your perspective and acceptance of the world around us.

Scratch the Surface

Today, after an early dismissal from school because of some snow, I got home and decided that to go on the internet. I should mention first that on my way home I was talking with my mom about business, the right way to treat people, and peoples' mentalities. We started to talk about Google and how they have built an empire in part because they know how to treat their customer and the employees.
So, as I am on the internet, I looked up some books on Google that I planed to pick up to read and learn about how they have become so successful. In my research I realized that not only has Google taught us how the internet has evolved since its creation, but while I was surfing I visited Facebook, iTunes, Amazon, and a whole bunch of other sites which made me think how far we have come.
When I left my computer to go eat dinner, it dawned upon me that I could never have found those book or chatted with my friends or listened to music my friend just sent me or buy any products with such ease in that little time in the same place. I figured out that the internet was my new god. This blessed creation has given me resources to help me be so much efficient in life and not have to go to far lengths to get what I need. Not only this, but it also teaches us so much.
When I was at dinner I asked my mom "do you think that if you had the internet when you were a kid you would be smarter?" Her reply was hesitant at first, but she came out and said "maybe not 'smarter' but it would have made me more 'culturally aware'......ok, I guess that is smarter. So ,yes."
Because we have the internet and its endless amount of information and ability, I really want to stress that it is important that we use it to its full extent trying to better ourselves and minds and becoming 'smarter' people. If we can accomplish this as teenagers, the possibilities for our future are endless.

Right of the bat!

"Hey World"! As corny as that sounds, it breaks the ice. So let's get going!
In this blog I am looking to explore the minds of the modern person, especially teens, and their reactions to technology and the internet.
With that point of view in mind I thought it would also be really insightful to get some words about life before all the easy-to-set-up blogs, fast translations, and easy instant movie viewing. There are not too many people going to the lengths of discovering how these generations' minds differ and what effect its had culturally, socially, and especially academically.
So with all this in mind I hope you'll enjoy, comment, and post any opinions, articles, or suggestions!